For probably the first time in his pro career, Simon Enciso felt what it’s like to be so hot that he can’t be stopped.
On Sunday, the third-year guard made the SMART Araneta Coliseum look like his own playground, hitting nine three-pointers en route to 30 points to power the Alaska Aces past the TNT Katropa, 125-96, in their Governors’ Cup matchup.
The 5-foot-11 Filipino-American, who was traded by Phoenix to Alaska back in February of 2017, was clearly going to have a stellar evening right from the get-go. He sank five triples early in the first quarter, which gave the Aces a 21-5 lead – a lead which they would never give up the rest of the way.
Enciso’s nine triples and 30 points are now his career-highs. According to the league’s stats chief Fidel Mangonon, Enciso’s nine treys are an all-time franchise record for locals and the most since Jose Slaughter’s 14 back in 1987.
Enciso’s explosion has been a long time coming since he put on an Alaska uniform last season. When he came into the Aces’ realm, he wasn’t playing the same way he did with previous team Phoenix Fuel Masters.
At the end of last season, Enciso was just shooting 15 percent from three.
“He struggled a little bit early when he came to us.
“When guys come to the way we play we fullcourt press… so that really taxed your legs so you have to have a superior level of conditioning,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton.
But now, Enciso has definitely worked on it, and the results are coming.
“When you don’t have your legs under you, sometimes a good shooter becomes a mediocre or bad one. And Simon has done work on his legs to the point that he can still pressure and still have legs to make shots,” added Compton.
Enciso, however, deflected all the credit to his teammates with his career night – the Aces dished a whopping 33 assists versus the Texters, with fellow point guard Chris Banchero contributing 14 to their assist total.
“It’s the same as I always do. I’m just thankful to my teammates for getting me to the right spots and got me the ball when I needed it,” he said.
“I just take one shot at a time. I don’t think of what happened before.”
